Last weekend I went to a Gem Show in town. I too am in the process of
buying tools so I can start working with metals. The dealer at the show
helped me quite a bit! If you are going to be working with mostly silver
there is a torch that Bernz makes it is a propane torch with a cloth
covered hose attached to it is only $40 (a lot cheaper than a little
torch!) and works great! I found mine at HQ but Meijer’s had it for a
little bit cheaper $38. Another thing he told me is for pickle you can
build a sort of warming device instead of buying a pickle pot. just
attach a ceramic light fixture to a board, then cut the top and bottom off
a coffee can cut some tabs in the bottom and attach it to the board over
the light. throw in a 100 watt bulb and put a little metal screen shelf
inside the coffee can. Then all you need is a Pyrex dish to put the sparex
in. I had my dad build this for me and it works wonderfully!! I hope this
helped you out! Sarah

Sarah- Your pickle pot sounds like an awfully good way to get electrocuted,
if I read it right. Just go to any flea market/garage sale/junk store and
get a ceramic crockpot. I use one of those itty-bitty ones they sell for
potpourri, it’s only about 8 inches across.

Rather than spend a lot of money on a pickle pot, or cob together
something that looks like a Rube Goldberg project, just find a usable crock
pot at a garage sale. It’ll work just fine and only cost a few bucks.
Charlie

Hi Sarah, Another idea is to use an old coffee machine. Not to let the
pickle boil through but just use the plate to keep it hot:-)

This gave me an idea- I have a coffee cup warmer plate (brand is Salton)
that would hold a 600 ml beaker perfectly. I’ve melted countless plastic
baskets in my pickler over the years by forgetting to turn it off so I use
the pickle cold. Great thread!

Sarah- Your pickle pot sounds like an awfully good way to getelectrocuted,
if I read it right. Just go to any flea market/garage sale/junk store and
get a ceramic crockpot. I use one of those itty-bitty ones they sell for
potpourri, it’s only about 8 inches across.

How is it possible to get electrocuted?? Also with the potpourri pot, the
pickle won’t eat away at it? Are there any certain kinds of pots to buy or
not to buy??

Rick- I like the coffee cup warmer idea!!!why buy a beaker, use a coffee
mug that has a broken handle, when it gets yucky throw it away. Also, when
you get ready to use liver of sulfer, cover the cup warmer top w/ tin foil,
then lay your piece on it till warm, then put the liver of sulfer solution
on the warmed piece-

Rick- I like the coffee cup warmer idea!!!why buy a beaker, use a coffee
mug that has a broken handle, when it gets yucky throw it away.

I’ve been using the same coffee cup warmer for years, as well as a
glass-insert crock pot for larger items. For crock pots, I highly
recommend the glass type, our first ceramic pot almost electrocuted us…

I have a pickle pot made from a 1 1/2 qt. pyrex dish I bought at a garage
sale for $1.00 and the electric base from an old popcorn maker. (not the
air popped kind, but the kind you added some oil and the corn, then put on
a hood) I’ve also used the base from old crockpots, that people sell for
pennies when they break the ceramic pot. I use plastic strawberry baskets
inside the glass dish, until they melt and become deformed.

I recently came up with an idea to get around the firescale problem I
sometimes have with soldering on large pieces of silver sheet metal. If I
want one or more bezels on the design, I know I will have firescale that
is difficult to get off, expecially inbetween the bezels. This is only
worth the effort if there is no other soldering to be done on the piece.

I have bought or made bezel cups, with bottoms, and soldered on tiny bits
of silver tubing- such as heishi beads, on the bottoms of the cups. I
drill holes in the large silver sheet design, and pop in the bezels, and
rivet them on with the tubing. If you don’t want the cup to spin on its
axis, you could put two rivets in, but I haven’t found this necessary.I
once made a crown, with over 25 bezels, this way, and it worked fine. I
then “laced” the crown closed after shaping around a log. If this is an
old, well-know trick, to attach bezels, please forgive me. Ruth